Ricky Romero, his teammates, his bosses and his fans are looking for a bounceback season for the lefthander after the way he crashed and burned in 2012.

The very word bounceback probably delivers a mistaken impression that it can be achieved with a single breakthrough or a thought or a mechanical change. What it is, is a slow process that requires a long look in the mirror and almost painful attention to detail.

“I reflected on the season and how bad I was,” he said, taking himself back to ground zero last fall.

“At the same time, you learn more about yourself when you’re on the ground, when you fail. It’s easy when the game is coming to you and everything is going all right. This is a test for me mentally.

“It’s all part of the game and it’s all about how I respond this year.

During the season you don’t have that much down time. You pitch, and then you’re trying to get ready for that fifth day again.

“When you’re actually sitting back thinking about it, maybe watching the baseball playoffs, it feels like forever (until it begins again). If anything it teaches you patience. Then, even when you start throwing a baseball, it doesn’t feel right yet. But, little by little, you work through it.”

Sunday was Romero’s second start of the spring season. He worked a couple of strong innings against the Phillies, once again concentrating on his sinker, but also incorporating a couple of well-placed curveballs and the odd changeup. He allowed a run in the first inning on a wind-blown triple by Phillies’ Kevin Frandsen, followed by a wild pitch on a sinker that got away from catcher Henry Blanco. Otherwise he was in control.

“I thought he was great,” said manager John Gibbons. “That’s two good ones in a row. There are times he reaches back to put guys away and he scatters a little bit but if he gets away from that, he’s going to be really tough.”

Even the one walk he issued to veteran Chase Utley didn’t concern him greatly.

“It’s one of those things where I was sinking the ball,” said Romero. “I sank it three times to go 3-0. It’s giving me the movement I want but maybe a little bit too much. That’s what the sinker does. They lay off of it, reading it right out of your hand, especially an experienced guy like Utley. He’s going to be tough to get swings off of it. I was happy with the movement. I felt like I had life and that’s a good sign.”

Romero hasn’t broken out his cutter, which was an effective foil for the sinker two years ago. What he wants is to refine his fastball command through these early starts, while working in the occasional off-speed pitch.

Romero simply followed the signs that veteran catcher Blanco put down. He said Blanco was asking him to work the outer half of the plate with his fastball.

“He’s trying to get that fastball under control,” said Romero. “When you get that heater down and you’re comfortable with it, able to command it, everything else kind of works off that.”

When he does get around to incorporating the cutter, there may be a slight variation. He and Mark Buehrle have been exchanging information about their own personal preferences regarding grip and strategy with the pitch.

“We were just talking about our cutters: How he grips it, how I grip mine and what he tries to do with it when he’s facing a righty, what he’s trying to do against a lefty,” Romero said.

“Anything I can get out of guys like him, especially him, I’m going to try to pick his brain. I get a lot out of just watching and I don’t want to get in his way too much, either, but if I have a question at all, I will ask him.”

In his first couple of years in the big leagues, as successful as Romero was, there was always that tendency toward impetuosity on the mound, trying too hard to put a hitter away. Now he’s self-aware enough to recognize the signs.

“I feel like I’m aggressive,” he said. “If anything, I probably need to calm down a little bit. I was ahead of a couple of guys out there and I let them get away, or at least ran the count a little deeper than I wanted to. Like I said, I’m going to use this time to re-find the stuff I need to find.”

The curve has always been a pitch that comes easily for Romero and he buried Phillies’ Darin Ruf with a good one for a strikeout to start the second inning.

“A hitter tells you a lot by his swings and it felt good coming out of my hand. It all has to do with the delivery. Pete (Walker, the pitching coach) and I have been trying to smooth that out. It was a good step forward today.”

That’s what Romero’s spring is going to be about: Small steps forward. Nothing dramatic or spectacular, just an inspection and re-evaluation of the inventory he already possesses.

BONIFACIO ERRORS ALARMING, IZTURIS STILL HITLESS

Based upon Grapefruit League results so far, you can make a case for a Blue Jay platoon at second base: Emilio Bonifacio could bat and Maicer Izturis could play the field.

Unfortunately the Jays might run into some pesky rule problems with that kind of deployment. But it would be a nice fit if they could. Bonifacio, who leads in runs scored with five, also has the most errors (four) on a team that is tied with the Yankees for the MLB lead in errors this spring, with 17 in 10 games. And Izturis, a sure-handed defender, is still looking for his first hit of the spring after 15 at-bats.

Bonifacio is looking like a guy who has a mental block regarding his throwing. Over the week, he has thrown away three balls on the back ends of double plays. Sunday playing shortstop against the Phillies, he made two more awkward throws that came no where near the intended target, one at third base and another at second.

“I don’t know the guy that well yet but with his personality, he’s one of those guys who keeps coming at you,” said manager John Gibbons. “I haven’t given (his throwing problems) a thought.”

In the second inning, Bonifacio dropped down a bunt single, stole second, stole third and scored when the catcher’s throw went into the outfield.

Blue Jays' Romero still rolling in Florida

Ricky Romero, his teammates, his bosses and his fans are looking for a bounceback season for the lefthander after the way he crashed and burned in 2012.

The very word bounceback probably delivers a mistaken impression that it can be achieved with a single breakthrough or a thought or a mechanical change. What it is, is a slow process that requires a long look in the mirror and almost painful attention to detail.